Schools across Britain have been ordered by local authorities to abandon the ancient tradition of serving hot cross buns at Easter so as not to offend children of non-Christian faiths.

Some councils are refusing to hand out the traditional treats because they fear that the symbol of the cross will spark complaints from Jewish, Hindu and Muslim pupils or their families.

Officials in the London borough of Tower Hamlets decided to remove the buns from menus this year after criticism over its decision to serve pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. A spokesman for the Labour-run council claimed that there had been "a lot" of complaints but did not have a figure.

The spokesman added: "We are moving away from a religious theme for Easter and will not be doing hot cross buns. We can't risk a similar outcry over Easter like the kind we had on Pancake Day. We will probably be serving naan breads instead."

In the past, invidivual schools have taken the decision to not serve hot cross buns, but this is the first time local authorities across the country have imposed blanket bans.

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Liverpool council, which is controlled by the Liberal Democrats, also told The Telegraph that the symbol of the cross had the "potential to offend" and buns will no longer be served to children.

Despite this ruling, the council confirmed that it will continue to organise special menus to celebrate events as diverse as the Chinese New Year, Italian National Day and Russian Independence Day.

Other councils not serving hot cross buns include York, where Labour is the largest group, and Wolverhampton, which is Labour-run. Officials in Wakefield, which is also controlled by Labour, have decided it would be more appropriate to tailor the Easter menu to information technology.

"We are not serving hot cross buns at all," said a spokesman. "Each term we try to come up with a menu which encourages children to think about different issues. This Easter term we chose information technology and did not even consider putting hot cross buns on the menu."

Ann Widdecombe, the Conservative MP and former shadow home secretary who is a Roman Catholic convert, described the ban as "appalling and absurd". "These people are silly asses," she said.

"It would appear that we should know about everyone else's culture apart from our Christian tradition. It seems that anything that comes from an ethnic minority is fine, while anything Christian is wrong.

"What can be more innocent than a hot cross bun? There's no more fun way to explain the Christian tradition to a child and it is not as if eating a hot cross bun automatically makes you a born-again Christian."

The Muslim Council of Britain called the decision "very, very bizarre". A spokesman said: "This is absolutely amazing. At the moment, British Muslims are very concerned about the upcoming war with Iraq and are hardly going to be taken aback by a hot cross bun.

"Unfortunately actions like this can only create a backlash and it is not very thoughtful. I wish they would leave us alone. We are quite capable of articulating our own concerns and if we find something offensive, we will say so. We do not need to rely on other people to do it for us.

"British Muslims have been quite happily eating and digesting hot cross buns for many years and I don't think they are suddenly going to be offended."

Although the buns and their distinctive symbols have been a feature of English life for nearly 2,000 years, they have not always been associated with Christianity.

The tradition dates back to pagan times when the cross represented the moon and its four quarters. It was claimed for the Christian church in 1361 when Father Thomas Rockcliffe distributed the buns to the poor of St Albans.

It became traditional to eat the buns on Good Friday after Elizabeth I passed a law limiting their consumption to religious festivals. Some local authorities such as Manchester have decided that they can keep hot cross buns on the menu while catering for other faiths.

A spokesman said: "We are in favour of diversity and will be catering for all tastes. We cover a wide geographical sweep and our menus are tailored to the ethnicity of various areas. We could serve naan breads or hot cross buns, depending on the demand."

A spokesman for Lincolnshire county council said: "We will be serving hot cross buns and have never experienced any problems with them."

Birmingham city council had put an outright ban on hot cross buns but relented on the decision following inquiries from the city's Anglican bishop, the Rt Revd John Sentamu. It has now told individual schools that they can request hot cross buns if they wish.

Last year, the Food Standards Authority named hot cross buns as the healthiest option for those who wanted to indulge themselves at Easter. On a weight-for-weight basis, the buns were found to contain the lowest amount of sugar and fat as well as having the highest fibre and lowest calorie content.

A spokesman for the Church of England last night said that there was no reason why any school should should stop serving hot cross buns.

He said: "I see nothing wrong with anything which encourages children to remember that it is Easter time. Easter has its own special symbols and the hot cross bun is one of them. People who do not want to eat the buns do not have to."

He added: "It is difficult to understand how anything which is ancillary to the celebration of Easter can create so much offence."